•10:45 AM
This morning I found an article on Senator Kennedy's bill on health care reform. According to this article, "Americans would be able to buy long-term care insurance from the government for $65 a month under a provision tucked into sweeping health care legislation that senators will begin considering next week."The frightening thing about this is that Long Term Care (LTC) insurance was not even included in the President's forecast of $1.6 trillion. I saw this and I said, "Does the good Senator truly want to put us on the fast track for bankrupting the United States?" An estimated 10 million Americans currently need LTC. That number is expected to double by 2030 (footnote 1).
The problem with the cost is that the average cost of daily personal care is $7,000 per month (footnote 2). Of course they are couching it as a modest benefit to start (not to be less than $1,500 per month but it doesn't state the maximum). However, these things grow and receive a life of their own. So you, through the government, are going to take on the cost burden (we will assume they negotiate down prices and have a limited monthly maximum benefit of $3,000) on average, $3,000 per month per enrollee or $36,000 annually per enrollee. Do the math. It's not pretty. Can you see how these things can mushroom cloud into something so much larger than they initially tell you?
My favorite was this part:
"Both plans omitted specifics on how to cover the costs, which could exceed $1 trillion over 10 years (see footnote 3)." Also, why didn't they say "which could exceed $1.6 trillion?" $600,000,000,000 is a lot of money to not include in their article.
They must think we are either stupid, not listening, or we won't get involved. Let's prove them wrong on all of the above.
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Footnotes
1. Georgetown University, Long Term Care Financing Project, "National Spending for Long-term Care Fact Sheet," January 2007
2. Chicago-Sun Times, "The Savage Truth on Money" by Terry Savage, Monday, March 31, 2008
3. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090610/ap_on_bi_ge/us_health_overhaul;_ylt=AoA0E6i2EyEL4ndNzgwOzf6yFz4D;_ylu=X3oDMTJuOWk4YzlvBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMDkwNjEwL3VzX2hlYWx0aF9vdmVyaGF1bARwb3MDMQRzZWMDeW5fYXJ0aWNsZV9zdW1tYXJ5X2xpc3QEc2xrA2tlbm5lZHloZWFsdA--
3 comments:
Know what, Ken? Now it is just getting laughable. Nobody in their right mind can believe that the Americans are going to swallow this. Universal healthcare? Maybe (it will not work but many are trying to swallow it). But they keep adding on and adding on and of course they don't ever say how they're going to pay for it... taxes! The only problem is, they are going to tax us into oblivion and then how will they pay for it? Tax other countries? Steal from other countries, I mean? It is the height of absurdity. My congressman (Jason Chaffetz) doesn't buy into this garbage, but almost all the other Obama-butt-kissing politicians out there can't seem to be excited enough about it. Mark my words, we are going to see secession or civil war if they keep pursuing this irresponsible course. I don't see that as being necessarily unthinkable at this point.
Ethan,
It certainly is. Sadly however, I do believe that the American public will swallow this. According to a very recent CNN poll, 72% of those polled believe that the President and Congress should move forward with health care reform and that the government should take a larger part in it. There is a propaganda machine behind this as there always is. Whether we are talking about the Iraq War, social security reform, an election, or health care. We cannot rely on the media to give us the whole picture. We must first rely on principles of liberty and the facts to guide our actions.
I believe that the government should take a role in regulating health care to break up the monopolies and perhaps even setting some kinds of cost cutting measures through tax incentives, credits, etc. to help incentivize industry to make changes. Costs are out of control.
However, that is not the likely end result in all of this. The likely result will be huge spending and tax payer debt that we cannot pay off.
Even so, I personally do not believe this will end in civil war or secession and I know that wasn’t what you are proposing or even hoping for. What we need is better governing and more personal liberty through active involvement by the people. Whereas we are a representative democracy, if it is the will of the voters through their representatives to have health care reform then we will have it - even though their kind of reform is the wrong thing to do.
We must work together for better governing and more liberty for the preservation of the Union. The balance provided by the Union because of its makeup of 50 states is our best guarantee for personal liberties – not living in a single state. That is why we have our country. That is why we swear allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and not to the flag of states.
How can we do this? It is by uniting the states in a true union and by empowering state legislatures all over the country to take their constitutional right to amend the constitution according to the will of the people. We can't rely on Congress to do. We have to do that. Rather than talk about secession like the good Governor from Texas recently did, we should be talking about Joining together as a country of states where there is a balance again where the states unite together and tell the Federal Government what the people want – not just the other way around. The states have fallen asleep. It is time they be awakened. That is the answer my friend. Wake up the states and restore the balance.
And, at the end of the day, we have to accept the laws of government as the voice of the sovereign people. Even if it isn't my voice, I must acquiesce. However, I will let my voice be heard.
Your friend in liberty,
Ken
No, I am not proposing or supporting secession. I do agree with you that the solution is to wake America up and set our government straight. That is the best thing to do.
I have to admit that I am losing my hope as I watch more and more stooges of the socialist agenda get elected and more and more voices of wisdom get mocked and silenced.
Of course the healthcare crisis needs to be fixed. Why would anybody in their right mind want socialized medicine as the alternative, though? I know it sounds conspiratorial, but what better way for government to control people than to decide, essentially, who gets to live and who gets to die? Can we deny that our government wants more power and control? Can we deny that the individual liberties of others are meaningless to those who espouse a Marxist view and who want power? Healthcare reform? I give it a huge thumbs up. A socialized "solution"? Dream on.
(And I realize that is definitely NOT what you are proposing or hoping for).
Unless we can get new blood and new ideas into government, this will continue to be a downward spiral I fear to the total destruction of our country. Washington is corrupt to the hilt. There are a few good people there, but most are either socialist pigs or spineless and won't stand up for American principles.
The problem is, if America fails, where do you go?